Mitchell could be the Key down the stretch here.

[Auger]

Not sure how long Canzeri will be out. IMHO I think out of the RB's we have right now healthy Mitchell is the most like Canzeri. One of the reasons The Iowa O just kept moving the line down field all season was not only Canzeri's threat as a runner but he was explosive as a pass catcher as well. Catching the ball Canzeri had a line of 17 rec 193yds and 1TD. Mitchell has shown he is a very solid recieving threat out of the backfield. With Beathard under so much pressure Mitchell and Canzeri have been both key dump down weapons for Beathard. My hope is KF realizes how great Canzeri was at moving the offense in all areas and see's Mitchell who has 5 rec for 65 yds in his last 2 games as a solid replacement for Canzeri and he gives him plenty of snaps with Wadley still getting the majority. Against Maryland Mitchell got a lot of snaps in the 1st half but gave way in the 2nd half to Daniels.

I love Daniels and what he has to offer but right now I don't think he can offer the offense what Wadley and Mitchell can. Wadley, Mitchell and Canzeri are explosive backs that offer multiple tricks in their bag of tricks. Daniels is great at picking up short yardage like Wesiman was. If you take away all the backs longest run in each of the games it has a huge impact on Daniels YPC. The other 90% of the carries after you take out the longest run of each game Canzeri avgs 4.2ypc, Wadley 4.7ypc, Mitchell 4.3ypc and Daniels 3.3ypc. Daniels avg alomst a full yard less then all of the others and his explosive runs are actually a lot less then the other 3. I don't want to bag on Daniels but KF went with him in the 2nd half and sat Mitchell a lot more. I think the Iowa O needs that threat of the RB out of the backfield and hope KF goes with Wadley/Mitchell until Canzeri gets back. Indiana, Minnesota and Nebraska have much better O's then Maryland and could make things interesting if Iowa's O bogs down at times in their games.

 

[Drew003]

Agreed. Iowa seems to have adopted the Patriots' philosophy by having a pass-catching rb. Not only the screen game, but also flexing him out and trying to get him matched-up on LB or safety in the drop-back pass game. For a team that struggles with separation, this could be helpful.

 

[Auger]

Iowa RB's account for 20% of the receptions this year. Thats not a huge number but that is a big number for RB's. Wadley and Daniels arent recieving threats if you take Canzeri and Mitchell out of the game that is a big hole in your passing game that the WR's and TE's have to make up for. I can see the offense bogging down a lot more during the next few games if Iowa doesnt have that RB threat/option in the passing game. Plus it changes a D's scheme when they don't have to worry about a RB getting open and making a play.

 

[wyldhawk9]

It is a breath of fresh air to have this as part of the offense. One wouldn't think it too difficult to find a RB who can catch passes, and then work that into the offense. Glad we finally have that this year.

 

[bagdropper]

I was baffled Iowa stopped the 3 back rotation in the second half.

To me it seemed it was mostly Daniels...and in my humble opinion he's not elusive enough nor versatile enough for defenses to consider anything else but running it between the tackles. So, they load the box and semi-run blitz.

I want a 3 headed monster, considering how good the combo of Mitchell and Wadley seem to appear to be. Mixing Daniels in with them equally was working nicely the first half.

 

[Daggerfoot]

I agree with pretty much everything in this thread, but I don't see Mitchel as "explosive". Versatile, solid, powerful, finishes runs, hands...all of that yes. But to me he looks the least explosive of the 3 active RBs by quite a bit. All on TV to clarify...maybe live he looks quicker live.

 

[wyldhawk9]

I was baffled Iowa stopped the 3 back rotation in the second half.

To me it seemed it was mostly Daniels...and in my humble opinion he's not elusive enough nor versatile enough for defenses to consider anything else but running it between the tackles. So, they load the box and semi-run blitz.

I want a 3 headed monster, considering how good the combo of Mitchell and Wadley seem to appear to be. Mixing Daniels in with them equally was working nicely the first half.

I don't have an issue with KF resting the starter to give Daniels some work in the 2nd half...

 

[Auger]

I agree with pretty much everything in this thread, but I don't see Mitchel as "explosive". Versatile, solid, powerful, finishes runs, hands...all of that yes. But to me he looks the least explosive of the 3 active RBs by quite a bit. All on TV to clarify...maybe live he looks quicker live.

Mitchell isnt explosive in the elite speed category like Wadley and somewhat Canzeri but Mitchell has the speed to break off a long 40+ yd run as he has shown. He can also catch a ball and get 10 + yds after the catch as he has shown as well. Canzeri is a better all around back then Mitchell and Wadley is a better explosive runner then both Canzeri and Mitchell. However Mitchell is the best option to give Iowa what Canzeri gave Iowa before going down because of the abilty to break plays both inside and out as well as a very solid passing option out of the backfield.

 

[HeRKeYHoPeFuL]

From what I've heard, I think the gameplan was bleed the clock and make sure we didn't turn it over in the 2nd half to both get Beathard out of the game as healthy as possible and limit Wadley/Mitchell's exposure in a game that wasn't particularly close.

I have no trouble turning to Daniels in a game that was 31-7 at one point in the 2nd half and emphasizing not turning the ball over. If the game was in doubt, I think we would have seen more Wadley/Mitchell as necessary with Daniels dominating short yardage work/blocking.

 

[Auger]

From what I've heard, I think the gameplan was bleed the clock and make sure we didn't turn it over in the 2nd half to both get Beathard out of the game as healthy as possible and limit Wadley/Mitchell's exposure in a game that wasn't particularly close.

I have no trouble turning to Daniels in a game that was 31-7 at one point in the 2nd half and emphasizing not turning the ball over. If the game was in doubt, I think we would have seen more Wadley/Mitchell as necessary with Daniels dominating short yardage work/blocking.

I get your point somewhat. But if Iowa was trying to run clock Iowa had some quick change of possessions when Daniels was out there. Plus when Daniels was out there along with Wadley at times on passing downs neither provided Beathard a passing option and neither blocked well as Beathard got hit hard during the 2nd half which didnt help protect Beathard from getting hurt further. Neither could block and roll out and become an option like Canzeri and Mitchell have shown and neither could run a route to get open like Canzeri and Mitchell can. With Canzeri out, Mitchell has to be that guy in games to help protect Beathard and keep the chains moving.

 

[bagdropper]

Not saying Mitchell is The Guy. Not saying Daniels is The Guy. Not saying Wadley is The Guy.

But alternating them equally game situation dependent sure seems to work pretty well. And it seemed like they abandoned that for the most part the second half.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

Lashun was more effective when CJ was a mobile playmaker. With CJ at 70%, we need a versatile playmaker back there with him. We are back to teams stacking the box and pinning their ears back with CJ hurt. I suspect it's a steady dose of that until we punish them for it. Daniels off tackle won't get that done IMO.

 

[David1979]

Daniels had the best ypc against Maryland last week. He isn't Mark Weismann people the guy actually has decent speed and really good quickness plus strength. Of course they still need Wadley but Daniels is good.

 

[Auger]

Daniels had the best ypc against Maryland last week. He isn't Mark Weismann people the guy actually has decent speed and really good quickness plus strength. Of course they still need Wadley but Daniels is good.

I dont think anybody is saying he isnt good. I think many are saying his skill sets may just not be what is best for the Iowa O right now. I would like to see him get 5-7 carries a game and be our 3rd/4th & 1 guy as well as goal line guy. But as stated above 90% of his carries go for 3.3ypc. That kind of production causes the Iowa O to stall out at times. All other RB's that get carries at Iowa when you take away their longest runs have above a 4ypc avg. They are just a lot more consistent and offer more outside of just running between the tackles to keep D's honest. Daniels is good its just Wadley and Mitchell offer more to the Iowa O.

 

[bagdropper]

It's all about need.

Wadley and Mitchell (and a healthy Canzeri) give you a better pass/run home run threat - and as Auger states, an immobile CJ makes that a much more (IMHO) important need than a pounder.

Last few years, we've had a mostly immobile Rudock paired with Weisman...CJ Now/Daniels combo to me smacks of that. It's much, much easier to defend when you know your QB can't bootleg and can't play-action, and your RB isn't a receiver threat.

So...more dynamic threat at RB please.

I don't mean to sound like I'm down on Daniels...it's all about his style and what Iowa needs now.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

I love Daniels and what he has to offer but right now I don't think he can offer the offense what Wadley and Mitchell can. Wadley, Mitchell and Canzeri are explosive backs that offer multiple tricks in their bag of tricks. Daniels is great at picking up short yardage like Wesiman was. If you take away all the backs longest run in each of the games it has a huge impact on Daniels YPC. The other 90% of the carries after you take out the longest run of each game Canzeri avgs 4.2ypc, Wadley 4.7ypc, Mitchell 4.3ypc and Daniels 3.3ypc. Daniels avg alomst a full yard less then all of the others and his explosive runs are actually a lot less then the other 3. I don't want to bag on Daniels but KF went with him in the 2nd half and sat Mitchell a lot more. I think the Iowa O needs that threat of the RB out of the backfield and hope KF goes with Wadley/Mitchell until Canzeri gets back. Indiana, Minnesota and Nebraska have much better O's then Maryland and could make things interesting if Iowa's O bogs down at times in their games.

If you're being fair to Daniels, only count his stats from the games when he's been healthy. You do that and you find that his average is 3.9 ypc (calculating things exactly as you had before). When you also count how infrequently he goes for negative yards ... that obviously means that you don't always hit on the big runs with Daniels ... but also it means that your O tends to remain on schedule more frequently too.

When you have an injured QB ... remaining on schedule is of great importance.

I agree that the versatility of Canzeri was a huge asset. His contributions in BOTH the running and passing game was huge. It put a lot more pressure on opposing Ds to defend more guys ... and that helped to make our O harder to defend as a whole.

 

[sloehawk]

Daniels had the best ypc against Maryland last week. He isn't Mark Weismann people the guy actually has decent speed and really good quickness plus strength. Of course they still need Wadley but Daniels is good.

That is what is known as an anomaly. Wadley didn't play much the 2nd half, when Daniels did his "damage" at 4.6 ypc. (not great but not bad), and our Offense went in the tank as you recall, though Daniels wasn't the sole reason for that. He did OK.

Daniels did look better, thankfully, because he was awful in spot duty for several games there. Looked like a new guy. Good to see, but I want him in situationally only. He doesn't bring to the table what Canzeri and especially Wadley bring to the table. Mitchell has done real well too, MUCH better than our former 3rd down back. Night and day better. The run game is in good hands.

 

[icantfindausernamethatisntused]

Do the posters comparing Daniels to Weisman know that Daniels holds the pro-agility record at Iowa for RB's during the Ferentz-era?

Daniels is built like a brick house and is actually a very quick RB when healthy. I'd like to see him get at least 15 carries per game as long as he's healthy. The only time he's been ineffective this year is when he has been injured.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

Do the posters comparing Daniels to Weisman know that Daniels holds the pro-agility record at Iowa for RB's during the Ferentz-era?

Daniels is built like a brick house and is actually a very quick RB when healthy. I'd like to see him get at least 15 carries per game as long as he's healthy. The only time he's been ineffective this year is when he has been injured.

Yeah. Daniels just needs to stay healthy for long enough so that he can gain the experience necessary so he can take the next steps in his development. Take his raw measurables and add experience ... we have yet another high quality running back helping to power our running game.

 

[LakeviewHawkeye]

That is what is known as an anomaly. Wadley didn't play much the 2nd half, when Daniels did his "damage" at 4.6 ypc. (not great but not bad), and our Offense went in the tank as you recall, though Daniels wasn't the sole reason for that. He did OK.

Per the game tracker, Wadley had 8 second half carries to Daniels 6.

 

[FranklinHawk]

Per the game tracker, Wadley had 8 second half carries to Daniels 6.

Dammit Lake, stop interrupting these folks narratives with facts!

 

[David1979]

Per the game tracker, Wadley had 8 second half carries to Daniels 6.

You with your facts.

 

[David1979]

For some more facts. 4 of Daniels 6 carries in the second half were on Iowa's last offensive possession (the one before Iowa just took a knee)

Look Wadley is great but there are things Daniels does better than him just as there are things Wadley does better than Daniels.

In games where he has been healthy Daniels has averaged slightly over 5 yards a carry.

I think some on here are confusing Daniels with Weisman.

 

[FranklinHawk]

For some more facts. 4 of Daniels 6 carries in the second half were on Iowa's last offensive possession (the one before Iowa just took a knee)

Look Wadley is great but there are things Daniels does better than him just as there are things Wadley does better than Daniels.

In games where he has been healthy Daniels has averaged slightly over 5 yards a carry.

I think some on here are confusing Daniels with Weisman.

Agree, I thought Daniels looked as good as he has all season on Saturday. They are both quality backs with different skills/styles, we need to use them both. Reading some of the posts here you would think we're comparing Weisman and Melvin Gordon.

 

[BUCKSNDUCKS]

I hope Iowa mixes it up with all 3 again and keeps Indiana off balance defensively. Need to throw in a few different wrinkles too - the jet sweep, shovel pass, chuck it deep to either Smith.